This Cool Culinary Brand Has Your Summer Covered
Here’s why French brand Opinel is a favorite of both home chefs and pros.
Courtesy of Opinel
In the world of knives and culinary tools, few brands have the timeless utilitarian cool of Opinel. You likely have seen their No. 8 carbon steel folding knife, either at the Museum of Modern Art or at the farmer’s market or being wielded by an off-duty chef, or you might have been gifted one when you became old enough to own a knife. It’s that kind of knife. The rounded wooden handle and elegant simplicity of its design make it a standout in the world of tools and gear. But beyond the knife, there’s an arsenal of equally beautiful and practical tools that the French company has added to its line, from camp utensils to garden gear that will set you up for summer.
Six Reasons to Add an Opinel to Your Knife Block
(Or toolbox, or picnic basket, or garden shed…)
Their No. 8 Folding Knife Is Affordable Cutlery Bliss
Here’s what makes their platonic ideal of a pocketknife so iconic: The svelte wooden handle with its arching ergonomic design. The light weight. The sharpenability of the carbon steel. The signature locking mechanism that’s unlike any other in that it pivots around the rounded handle, keeping the blade snug in and upright and safe. It’s the kind of knife you can toss in your toolkit, keep in your pocket, or place out on a cheese board along with a gourmet spread and it’ll look handsomely rustic just sitting there. If you just bring one folding knife with you on your summer adventures, this would be the one. And at $19 it is the high-design, high-functioning bargain of the millennium.
These Steak Knives Will Elevate Your Grilling Game
You can partially judge the quality of a steakhouse by its knives: the more sleek and elegant the handle and sharper the blade, chances are the steak will be equally refined. You can play that same game when you serve a steak at your next backyard cookout with these elegant new Facette knives that are a major upgrade from the chunky handled, deeply serrated blades you’ll find at chain steakhouses (or your neighbor’s house). They’re available with riveted handles in an array of wood finishes and chic as well as sustainable white and gray eco-friendly, dishwasher-safe compressed paper.
Their Mushroom Knife Is a Forager’s Dream
Last winter’s Sunset Holiday Issue included a feature on Salt Lake City restaurateur and forager extraordinaire Viet Pham. His blade of choice when harvesting and preparing the fruits of the forest floor? The Opinel No. 08 Stainless Steel Mushroom Knife.
They Can Outfit Your Camp Kitchen
Over the years the company has added a useful and utterly charming array of outdoor adventure-friendly tools but with typical French panache, all sporting their signature rounded handle whose rotating safety clasp can lock all manner of implements in position. You’ll see a bon vivant throughline to how they interpret living in the great outdoors: There’s an oyster knife, a corkscrew, and a mushroom foraging knife complete with a brush built in to dust off your mycological haul.
They Can Add Color to Your Home Kitchen
In recent years Opinel has added brightly colored kitchen items to the collection that stand out aesthetically and functionally: utility knives in all the primary colors, a kids’ knife set with a finger guard, and the super versatile T-DUO peeler that can both peel and julienne.
They Have a Great Garden Collection
While a lot of garden gear looks like clunky power tools, Opinel makes garden implements that would look right at home in your fantasy cottage in Provence. We love the foldable saw, which is like the garden version of the No. 8 in that it’s a classic looking instant heirloom you’ll keep and use for life.
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